While not normally a term of endearment, Barrington center Josh Watkins wears his nickname — The Runt — like a badge of honor.

It comes with the territory when a 5-foot-11, 210-pound lineman breaks huddle with the likes of teammates Dan Voltz (6-5, 290), Mason Darrow (6-5, 270) and Akeel Abdelhaldi (6-1, 270).

"He's only the runt of the litter by size," Barrington coach Joe Sanchez said. "In terms of value, he's just as valuable as any of those other guys. We've been blessed over the years with a lot of big, headline guys. But if a team is going to be successful, you need a Josh Watkins kind of kid."

Barrington (4-1, 1-0) travels to Palatine (4-1, 1-0) Friday night in a key battle for the top spot in the Mid-Suburban League West. Both teams have won four in a row after season-opening losses.

Watkins saw no varsity time as a junior and was an outside shot to join an already-impressive front five in Barrington to start the year. When he did earn a spot on the line, it was at right guard. Shortly after a season-opening overtime loss to Libertyville, Watkins moved to center, and the Broncos' offensive line found its rhythm.

"It kind of came naturally to me, and coach said he liked how smart I was," Watkins said. "I honestly had my doubts as to where I'd fit on this line. I just tried to go out and do my best every day, and the pieces finally came together. Up front we trust each other to make the blocks."

Watkins and the line have set a goal to not only protect senior quarterback Mark Bennett, but give running back Chase Murdock his best rushing season — and his third-straight 1,000-yard year. Murdock is 255 yards shy of 1,000 yards heading into this weekend.

"Our primary goal is to obviously win and have Chase and Mark and all of our backs and receivers do well." Watkins said. "It's up to us to provide the protection and the blocks. One of our No. 1 goals is to get Chase over 200 yards a game. We've had it a few times. We really think that because we have some really talented players, if we do our jobs, they'll find ways to score and get into the end zone."

FYI: Barrington is looking to snap a four-game losing streak to the Pirates in a rivalry that dates back to 1929.

X and O factor: Friday will be more than Homecoming for Palatine. The Pirates will be playing only their second home game of the season. "If you would have said, with this schedule and being on the road four out of five games and we come away 4-1, I'd be very pleased," Palatine coach Tyler Donnelly said. "I don't know if it will help us down the road, but I do know that the kids have responded."